1972 Lincoln Memorial Cent - CU-1c-1972-05 Rim Cud

Description

Cataloged as CU-1c-1972-05 by the Cuds on Coins attribution team, this rim cud variety on the 1972 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent is the fifth numbered entry in the sequence (the fourth entry, CU-1c-1972-04, is documented separately). No cross-references or specific attribution date information have been published for this variety. A rim cud represents the loss of part of the die's rim gutter: on the coin it appears as a raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. The damaged die continues to strike planchets under the tremendous pressure of the coining press (typically 35–40 tons for cent production), producing that raised interruption at the rim of each coin struck after the break. The size and position of the cud depend entirely on where the die edge failed: some cuds are small crescents barely protruding beyond the normal rim line, while others cover substantial portions of the coin's periphery. CU-1c-1972-05 adds to the documented census of die edge failures from the 1972 Philadelphia production run and represents the physical evidence of one specific die's retirement-triggering event — a moment captured in metal and preserved for numismatic study decades later.

External References